Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Europe & Central Asia

Europe & Central Asia: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 5.4% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
5.4%
Change on year
down 1.9%
Rank
38th
of 43 groups
All-time high
17.4%
in 1971
All-time low
5.4%
in 2019
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Europe & Central Asia, 1970–2019

57.51012.51517.5197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Europe & Central Asia is 5.4%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

The figure is down 1.9% on the previous year and down 38.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 17.4% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 5.4%, in 2019.

Europe & Central Asia ranks 38th of 43 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Europe & Central Asia, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%) in Europe & Central Asia, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 17.0%
1971 17.4% +2.2%
1972 17.3% -0.7%
1973 17.1% -0.7%
1974 16.5% -3.8%
1975 16.3% -1.1%
1976 16.3% +0.3%
1977 15.9% -2.7%
1978 15.7% -1.3%
1979 15.8% +0.4%
1980 15.7% -0.3%
1981 15.9% +1.4%
1982 15.8% -0.9%
1983 15.6% -1.0%
1984 15.5% -0.6%
1985 15.3% -1.4%
1986 15.2% -0.9%
1987 14.9% -2.3%
1988 14.6% -1.6%
1989 14.7% +0.6%
1990 14.7% +0.1%
1991 14.5% -1.2%
1992 14.4% -1.3%
1993 13.4% -6.8%
1994 12.7% -4.9%
1995 12.6% -1.2%
1996 12.7% +1.1%
1997 12.8% +0.3%
1998 12.5% -2.2%
1999 11.7% -6.0%
2000 11.2% -4.4%
2001 10.1% -10.3%
2002 9.2% -8.5%
2003 8.4% -8.8%
2004 8.8% +5.0%
2005 8.9% +0.7%
2006 8.9% -0.0%
2007 9.0% +1.2%
2008 8.6% -3.7%
2009 8.8% +2.0%
2010 8.2% -7.4%
2011 7.9% -2.7%
2012 8.1% +1.9%
2013 6.9% -14.9%
2014 6.5% -5.1%
2015 6.2% -5.8%
2016 6.2% +0.3%
2017 5.6% -8.8%
2018 5.5% -2.3%
2019 5.4% -1.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 16.5% 15.7% 17.4% 10
1980s 15.3% 14.6% 15.9% 10
1990s 13.2% 11.7% 14.7% 10
2000s 9.2% 8.4% 11.2% 10
2010s 6.7% 5.4% 8.2% 10

Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia

  1. 35 Nicaragua 21.6% compare
  2. 36 Republic of Moldova 21.1% compare
  3. 37 Kenya 20.6% compare
  4. 38 Paraguay 20.5% compare
  5. 39 Thailand 20.4% compare
  6. 40 Jamaica 20.2% compare
  7. 41 Cape Verde 20.0% compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More reference data data for Europe & Central Asia

All data for Europe & Central Asia →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Europe & Central Asia?
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Europe & Central Asia was 5.4% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
The highest recorded value was 17.4% in 1971.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 5.4% in 2019.
How does Europe & Central Asia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
Europe & Central Asia ranks 38th out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
Over the last ten years it is down 38.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Europe & Central Asia data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Europe & Central Asia. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-adolescents-and-youth-of-lower-and-upper-secondary-school-age-both/europe-and-central-asia/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
185 places, 4,210 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of adolescents and youth of lower secondary and upper secondary school age who are not enrolled or attending school during in a given academic year. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/